Anti-bending profiling head and profiling machine fitted with such heads

ABSTRACT

The use of shafts of small diameter in profiling heads gives rise to problems of bending and of loss of adjustment. In addition, the runout of the shafts can cause them to be ejected. To remedy these problems, the invention provides anti-bending means securing together shaft adjustment and forming means. A profiling head ( 1 ) of a profiling machine includes at least one forming cassette ( 2 ) including a set of two parallel shafts ( 20, 30 ) having wheels ( 201  to  217; 301  to  310 ) separated by spacers ( 200; 300 ) mounted thereon to form rolling tooling, and a frame including uprights ( 41, 51 ) for supporting the shafts ( 20, 30 ) and a base ( 60 ), which uprights are provided with vertical adjustment means ( 44  to  46; 54  to  56 ). According to the invention, the head also includes elements ( 61, 71 ) for adjusting tooling alignment, which elements are mounted laterally on each shaft ( 20, 30 ) being connected ( 4, 5 ) with at least one upright ( 51 ), and anti-bending adjustment means ( 90, 91 ) mounted substantially in a central position of each shaft ( 20, 30 ) connected ( 4, 5 ) with the base ( 60 ) and an adjustment beam ( 80 ) mounted on the uprights ( 41, 51 ) of the frame parallel to the shafts ( 20, 30 ).

The invention relates to a profiling head fitted with anti-bending means for the purpose of using rolling to form plates of sheet metal or the equivalent so that they present a certain profile, e.g. of U- or V- or other shape. The invention also relates to machines fitted with such profiling heads.

In a profiling line of a profiling machine, the sheet metal is formed progressively by passing through profiling heads fitted with rolling cassettes. Profiling machines include one or more profiling lines in order to reach the desired profile. For each line, the sheet metal is unreeled from a reel, is formed by passing through the rolling cassettes of the profiling heads, and is then retrieved on an outlet conveyor fitted with shears for cutting the sheet into plates, and is finally stacked. At the outlet, bending machines may be provided for bending the profiled sheet-metal plates. Electronic control equipment can also be provided for controlling the profiling lines.

Each rolling cassette of the profiling heads includes a set of two parallel shafts having wheels and spacers mounted thereon. The sheet metal is formed by being passed between said rolling means that present respective complementary profiles, the distance between two shafts being adjusted on uprights as a function of the thicknesses of the sheet metal. A shaft support frame comprising the uprights and a base is provided.

In order to reduce the cost and the weight of profiling heads, the present trend is to reduce significantly the diameter of the mounting shafts and of the wheels. However, the use of such shafts gives rise to problems of bending and of the shafts coming out of adjustment because of the way they deform in response to the dynamic stresses generated by the weight of the sheet metal and by the sheet metal advancing along the profiling lines. Adjustment can then only be performed by clamping bearing rings of the wheels, which leads over time to an effect of the rings being hollowed out by the work of the shaft.

In addition, shafts are never exactly cylindrical and in rotation their out-of-roundness can cause them to be ejected.

To remedy those problems, the invention provides for uniting the adjustment of the set of shafts and the adjustment of the forming means, and for providing means for adapting in bending.

More precisely, the invention provides a profiling head including at least one wheeled forming cassette comprising a set of two parallel shafts having wheels separated by spacers mounted thereon to form rolling tooling, and a frame comprising uprights for supporting the shafts and a base to which the uprights are fastened, which uprights are provided with vertical adjustment means for vertically adjusting the shafts.

The profiling head also includes elements for adjusting the alignment of the tooling, the elements being mounted laterally on each shaft in connection with at least one upright, and anti-bending adjustment elements mounted substantially in a central position of a shaft with a connection to the base and/or an adjustment beam in the event of such an adjustment beam being mounted on the uprights of the frame parallel to the shafts. The lateral adjustment and anti-bending elements, mounted on bearings, then adapt automatically to the vertical adjustment means.

Thus, no readjustment of the lateral or anti-bending adjustment means is required, since this adjustment takes place automatically: no loss of adjustment can occur since the means for transmitting the vertical adjustment, the beam and/or the base, remain in pressure. The beam can also serve to counter bending. The term “vertical” is used to mean perpendicular to the shafts in the plane formed by the axes of the shafts.

In particular advantageous embodiments:

the beam may be mounted, relative to the forming cassette(s) either on the side opposite from the base or on the side opposite from the base and on the same side as the base;

the connection between the shafts and the base and/or the beam being made by means of rods, at least one of the rods being of adjustable height;

the lateral adjustment of the alignment of the tooling is performed by centering means, in particular threaded screws, in connection with the uprights, which connection may be provided by cheekplates disposed on either side of the upright;

at least one anti-bending adjustment element may include, in the context of lateral adjustment of the alignment of the tooling, a conical split ring that is of sufficient thickness to act as a spacer; the ring has a bearing mounted thereon with an inner shell that presents the same cone angle as the ring; the relative position of the bearing that can advance over the ring is adjusted laterally by relative movement of the conical shell along the conical ring under drive from suitable adjustment means, in particular a nut in connection with a threaded portion of the split ring, a wheel, or a spacer; such movement causes the ring to be tightened or loosened correspondingly;

at least one adjustment element possesses an outer shell that is partial, being constituted by a section of a cylinder, and that has the rod connecting with the base or the beam fastened thereto; this disposition makes it possible to reduce costs by making use of a small quantity of material, with only a portion of the outer shell being of use for adjustment purposes;

the height of the rod is adjusted by clamping means mounted on an end of the rod that is inserted in an orifice of an endpiece.

The invention also provides a profiling machine including a reel for storing sheet metal, a plurality of progressive profiling heads as defined above, an outlet conveyor fitted with shears for cutting the profiled sheet metal into plates, a vessel for stacking the plates, and electronic equipment for controlling profiling lines formed by each profiled metal sheet. At the outlet, benders may be provided for bending the profiled sheet metal plates.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention appear on reading the following description of a non-limiting embodiment described with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a main section view of an example of a profiling head of the invention;

FIG. 2 a is a side view of FIG. 1 showing the lateral adjustment means more precisely;

FIGS. 2 b and 2 c are sections of FIG. 2 a on planes B-B and C-C;

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b are two views of FIG. 1 showing respectively an anti-bending adjustment element provided with an adjustment nut, and an anti-bending adjustment element having a bearing that advances with an adjacent wheel; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-section on a discontinuous plane A-A of FIG. 1, showing the two anti-bending adjustment elements of FIGS. 3 a and 3 b.

With reference to FIG. 1, the profiling head 1 seen in main section is fitted with a rolling cassette 2 including a set of two parallel shafts 20 and 30.

Wheels 201 to 217 are mounted on the shaft 20 and wheels 301 to 310 are mounted on the shaft 30. Most of these wheels are mounted on bearings 3. Spacers 200 and 300 are mounted directly on the shafts 20 and 30 so as hold the wheels of one shaft in register with the corresponding wheels of the other shaft. The wheels and the spacers form the rolling tooling.

The sheet for shaping is inserted between the wheels positioned facing one another in this way and respectively presenting complementary profiles. The two shafts are adjusted at a distance apart on lateral uprights 41 and 51 as a function of the spacing desired between the facing wheels of the shafts for a given thickness of sheet to be formed.

A shaft support frame includes the uprights 41, 51 and a base 60 on which the uprights are fastened with the help of vice-forming parts 42 & 43 and 52 & 53. The shafts 20 and 30 are mounted in parallel on the uprights 41 and 51 with the help of lateral adjustment elements, given respective references 61 and 71, that are mounted on the shafts with the help of bearings 3 and that are fastened to the uprights.

The uprights 41 and 51 are provided with stops 44 and 54 for adjusting the shafts vertically, the positions of the stops being locked by means of nuts 45 & 46 and 55 & 56.

The mounting shafts and the wheels are of diameters that are smaller than those used conventionally. In the embodiment described, the shafts are of a diameter of 60 millimeters (mm), whereas a conventional diameter is 100 mm.

The lateral adjustment elements 71 fastened to the upright 51 include means for aligning the tooling by centering, as described in detail below, while the adjustment elements 61 mounted on the other upright 41 to do not include a centering system.

In the embodiment described, an adjustment beam 80 is mounted on the vertical uprights, with the help of couplings 81 and adjustment nuts 82 extending parallel to the mounting shafts 20 and 30. Anti-bending adjustment elements 90 and 91 are mounted substantially in a central position on each shaft, respectively in connection with the base 60 and with the adjustment beam 80 via rods 4 and 5. The rod 4 is of a height that is adjustable by a nut and lock-nut assembly 6 mounted on a threaded end 4 a of the rod 4. The rod is inserted in a non-threaded orifice 7 a of an endpiece 7. The other rod 5 is mounted in a fixed position on the adjustment beam 80 using means known to the person skilled in the art.

The lateral adjustment elements 61, 71 and the anti-bending elements 90, 91 are mounted on bearings 3 and 3 a and they adapt automatically to the vertical adjustment applied to the stops 44 and 54.

In more detail concerning the lateral alignment adjustment, FIGS. 2 a, 2 b, and 2 c are respectively a side view and section views of FIG. 1 concentrating on a tooling alignment adjustment element 71. Such an element includes two screw-threaded centering bolts 72 and 73. The bolts are mounted on two cheekplates 74 and 75 that are placed outside two walls 57 and 58 of the upright 51, and they pass through the walls 57 and 58.

In the context of laterally adjusting the alignment of the tooling, an anti-bending adjustment element is shown in FIG. 3 a. Such an element 90 includes a conical ring 92 a that is split longitudinally along the axis X′X of the shaft 20. The ring presents thickness that is sufficient to act as a spacer. The ring 92 a has mounted thereon a bearing 3 a having an inner shell 30 presenting the same cone angle as the ring 92 a. The relative position of the bearing 3 a on the ring is adjusted laterally by relative movement (arrow F) of the bearing along the conical ring 92 a under drive from a nut 32 meshing with a threaded portion 93 of the split ring. This movement simultaneously tightens or loosens the ring correspondingly.

Another anti-bending element 91 is shown in FIG. 3 b. This element comprises a split ring 92 b of the same type as the ring 92 a and a bearing 3 a with a conical inner shell 30 identical to the bearing connected with the ring 92 a. Lateral movement causes the bearing 3 a to slide on the ring 92 b presenting a diameter that remains constant by increasing or decreasing the size of the split in the ring. This movement is driven by the wheel 305 that bears against the bearing 3 a.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section on a discontinuous plane A-A of FIG. 1, showing the two anti-bending adjustment elements 90 and 91 of FIGS. 3 a and 3 b. This figure shows the use of partial outer shells 94 a and 94 b, each formed by a section of a cylinder placed facing the rod 4 connected to the base 60 or the rod 5 connected to the beam 80. The ends of the rods 4 and 5 are secured respectively to the partial shells 94 a and 94 b. This reduction in the length of the shell, which is advantageous in terms of cost, is justified by the fact that only a portion of the outer shell is useful for adjustment purposes. The inner shells 30 remain entire.

The invention is not limited to the example and shown. In other embodiments of the invention:

lateral centering elements 71 may be mounted on both uprights 41 and 51;

a plurality of cassettes may be mounted between the base and the adjustment beam; and

other types of means can be implemented for clamping the rings of the rods or the stops, e.g. making use of blades or clip-fasteners. 

1. A profiling head including at least one wheeled forming cassette comprising a set of two parallel shafts having wheels separated by spacers mounted thereon to form rolling tooling, and a frame comprising uprights for supporting the shafts and a base to which the uprights are fastened, which uprights are provided with vertical adjustment means for vertically adjusting the shafts, the head being characterized in that it also includes elements for adjusting the alignment of the tooling, the elements being mounted laterally on each shaft in connection with at least one upright, and at least one anti-bending adjustment element mounted substantially in a central position of a shaft with a connection to the base and/or an adjustment beam in the event of such an adjustment beam being mounted on the uprights of the frame parallel to the shafts, the lateral adjustment and anti-bending elements, mounted on bearings, then adapt automatically to the vertical adjustment means.
 2. A profiling head according to claim 1, wherein the beam can be mounted relative to the forming cassette(s) either on the side opposite from the base, or on the side opposite from the base and on the same side as the base.
 3. A profiling head according to claim 1, wherein the connection between the shafts and the base and/or the beam is made by means of rods, at least one of the rods being of adjustable height.
 4. A profiling head according to claim 3, wherein the height of the rod is made adjustable by clamping means mounted on an end of said rod that is inserted in an orifice of an endpiece.
 5. A profiling head according to claim 1, wherein the lateral adjustment of the alignment of the tooling is performed by centering means in connection with the upright.
 6. A profiling head according to claim 1, wherein the connection between the centering means and the upright takes place via cheekplates disposed on either side of the upright.
 7. A profiling head according to claim 5, wherein the centering means comprise threaded-shank bolts.
 8. A profiling head according to claim 1, wherein at least one anti-bending adjustment element includes a split conical ring of sufficient thickness to act as a spacer, and a bearing having an inner shell presenting the same cone angle as the ring, the inner shell being mounted on the ring.
 9. A profiling head according to claim 8, wherein the relative position of the bearing on the ring is adjusted laterally by relative movement of the conical shell along the conical ring driven by adjustment means.
 10. A profiling head according to claim 9, wherein the adjustment means comprise a nut in connection with a threaded portion of the split ring.
 11. A profiling head according to claim 9, wherein the adjustment means are formed by a wheel bearing against the ring.
 12. A profiling head according to claim 9, wherein the adjustment means are formed by a spacer bearing against the ring.
 13. A profiling head according to claim 8, wherein at least one anti-bending adjustment element possesses a partial outer shell formed by a section of a cylinder, to which the rod connecting to the base or to the beam is fastened.
 14. A profiling machine including a sheet metal storage reel, a plurality of progressive profiling heads, an outer conveyor fitted with shears for cutting the profiled sheet into plates, a vessel in which the plates are stacked, and electronic equipment for controlling the profiling lines formed by each profiling head, the machine being characterized in that the profiling heads are defined in accordance with claim
 1. 15. A profiling machine according to claim 14, also including a bender for bending the profiled sheet metal plates. 